Departing for home on a sunday

I would appreciate some feedback from anyone who has left for home on a Sunday. What's it like at the MBJ airport? I've experienced Saturdays; they are extremely busy and crowded. My favorite is Tuesday, but the non-stop flights from Detroit are on Sunday. Any help is appreciated. Many thanks, Sun_princess

Sunday departure

We left MBJ recently on a Sunday, March 7th to be exact. Our departure time was 3:00pm. We left CN at 10:15am, with no traffic congestion and arrived at the airport by 11:30. No problem.....until we got in the long line at the ticket counter, long line thru customs and security. Even though we boarded our plane timely ~ 2:30pm, we never actually left the runway for quite awhile. We landed in Atlanta later than expected and also had 20+ planes ahead of us trying to get to gates to unload their passengers. Therefore, we were late getting off the plane and again experienced a long line thru customs. We missed our connecting flight to Pittsburgh, through no-fault of ours I must say. We had to be re-ticketed in Atlanta and the ticket agents screen indicated that it was a "Jamaican government delay", so their position was that it was no fault of DELTA'S. We almost had to spend the night in Atlanta at our cost! We were very fortunate to get the last two seats on the last flight of the day to Pgh. Arrived in Pgh. at 12:30am. Yes, it was a long day but what kept us going were the wonderful memories of the place we just left - CN!!! We were not discouraged because of the flight delays and will return in the near future BUT we have learned a valuable lesson. One must allow at least a few hours between connecting flights, especially during the snowy season in PA.

Sunday departures

Sun-princess,
We also have a non stop out of Milwaukee on Sundays. We recently returned from CSA on March 7th, and as warmweatherfriend indicated, MBJ was really busy. Our flight out of MBJ was at 1:30. We left CSA at 9, arrived at MBJ at 10:15, checked in with the airline and checked our bags (took 10 minutes) and then waited in line for customs approx. 40 minutes, then security for 30. We were able to do a little duty free shopping and grab a few more red stripes before we left :-)

Well, poop. I kinda knew you all would say what ya did, but I was hoping for not as bad as Saturday. The last time we departed on a Saturday, we had to wait about 90 minutes to get through security. Anyhow, a big thank you to Robin H, Coloradojuli, warmweatherfriend, and Amy. We'll be booking for next Feb in a couple of weeks. I sure don't want to miss all the early booking deals available until 4-15. WE LOVE JAMAICA, and especially CTI! Sun_princess

We were planning on going on a Friday and coming home on a Saturday. Not good? We wanted to get 7 full days, so we were planning an extra day. Should we try to leave on a Tuesday and back home on a Wednesday?

We were planning on going on a Friday and coming home on a Saturday. Not good? We wanted to get 7 full days, so we were planning an extra day. Should we try to leave on a Tuesday and back home on a Wednesday?

Don't let the crowded airport decide your vacation - definitely don't cut it short! It's just a longer line in immigration/customs or to check-in on Saturdays and Sundays. Same can be said for your airport at home.

We usually do a Friday to Friday so we can cry for 2 days when we get back before we go to work on Monday. The only problem was, last year we did that and got to CSS by around 1:00 PM and, because we were so excited, started drinking rum punch on the beach all afternoon. That wouldn't have been that bad except we had no sleep the night before. Well, when we went up to our beautiful penthouse to get ready for the Starlight Gala, we hit the wall. We did manage to get showered and ready but when it came time to head down to the Gala, my wife had this "please don't make me go anywhere" look on her face. We stayed in and ordered room service (love that about CSS) and listened to the music and watched the whole Gala from our huge balcony (D-14). It was beautiful in it's own way but we were a little disappointed in ourselves for not making the Gala since it is such a beautiful event. This year we go to CSA (6 days!!) and get there on Thursday 4/1 and leave on Friday 4/9. This way we won't miss the Shipwreck Beach Party. We used to do the Saturday & Sunday thing but don't because of the crowded airport thing. IRIE MON!!!

I also have an airport-related question that I figured I'd tack in here rather than post a new thread.

Anyone know what time the duty free shop opens in the airports? Unfortunately, we're taking a really early flight out (7:30) on a saturday morning and I'm wondering if we'll still be able to shop a little or if we need to buy souvenirs- like rum cream- at the couples gift shop instead. We're arriving in Jamaica late too (8:30) otherwise I would say we could just get it then. suggestions?

I also have an airport-related question that I figured I'd tack in here rather than post a new thread.

Anyone know what time the duty free shop opens in the airports? Unfortunately, we're taking a really early flight out (7:30) on a saturday morning and I'm wondering if we'll still be able to shop a little or if we need to buy souvenirs- like rum cream- at the couples gift shop instead. We're arriving in Jamaica late too (8:30) otherwise I would say we could just get it then. suggestions?

Another good tip is - it doesn't really matter what day you leave as long as it is early in the morning. It seems the airport is way more crowded later in the afternoon on any given day. We try to get out of MBJ before twelve (yes, you've got to leave the resort early)but I am so depressed about leaving Couples that I would just as soon get it over with. We fly from our home to Jamaica at 6 A.M with a connecting flight in Charlotte and we have landed in MBJ at 11:30 A.M. Perfect